Berlinale 2006 – The third day of competition: The New World, elementary and The Silence of Sleep

Nearly one third of the competition films it has been done on the canvas and the journalists well maintained, depressed or just bored. If they have nothing to complain – the weather is no longer an issue, the conditions for the international press is good, the organization works – are the films turn. Rightly so, as was hardly an outstanding contribution in the competition. Three new experiments in terms of the Golden Bear was on this day the film The New World, elementary and The Science of Sleep. A true Bear favorite, but can continue in coming.

At the very start and was running out of competition The New World, the latest film by cult director Terrence Malick, the classical legend of Pocahontas Indian tale unrolls new. In addition, he shows a love story in times of great upheaval. In April 1607 as British ships reached the North American coast and is the colonization in full swing, is also the conqueror of John Smith of board. Is played the rebellious war veteran in the circle of the English settlers of Colin Farrell. The strange and mysterious country of brutal and powerful king Powhatan ruled. Between the tribes of indigenous people and the Europeans developed a hostility that is becoming more threatening. Smith tried to draw the Indians as allies to his side and puts his special attention to the beautiful chief’s daughter Pocahontas. In 1999, Terrence Malick won with his war drama Thin Red Line / The Thin Red Line the Golden Bear. If his film in official competition was to see if he had not with his predecessors can match. The film has some length and remains colorless. Even though the media-shy director is acting with great pictures, the film looks too smooth to kitschy.

The first German entry in the competition by Oskar Roehler’s Elementary Particles. A film which mainly comes up with an all-star squad: Moritz Bleibtreu, Christian Ulmen, Martina Gedeck, Franka Potente, Nina Hoss, Uwe Ochsenknecht, Tom Schilling, Jasmin Tabatabai, Michael Gwisdek, Herbert Knaup and Corinna Harfouch. But even this dizzying array German dramatic art can not prevent that dismisses the film the audience unsatisfied. The film adaptation of Michel Houellebecq’s controversial novel to save the treasures of the book: Single-society paradigm conflict, loss of tradition and passion of the spirit will only be touched upon. It tells the story of two half-brothers on the search for the meaning of life. The teacher sexbesessene Bruno and the molecular biologist Michael, concerned with the elimination of sexual desire, meet throughout the film, both the love of her life, but her happiness is short-lived. Despite forceful performances Elementary misses the spectator. Roehler trying to big emotions and profound, fluffy humor and the story loses sight of. It is therefore not surprised that the applause turned out rather moderate.

Complete opposites, and with a lot of courage to experiment, the French director Michel Gondry’s film The Science of Sleep to the program sends, because this post is running out of competition. Gondry is his style from Forget me not remain loyal. Che Starring Gael García Bernal is Stephane, whose life is moving between dream and reality. The boundaries are fluid and he can not detect or correct the condition in which it currently is. The world of the unconscious acts into the real life and Stephane begins to withdraw into his dreams. When he falls in love with his neighbor, the confusion of dream and reality of unpredictable consequences. For all interested parties.